How to Get your Kids Ready in Time for the School Run

For many of us, getting kids ready in the morning can be a challenging and time consuming task. There are a number of small tweaks that you can make to your routine to help things run smoother. We’ve put together some top tips to help you survive the school run!

1. Prepare the night before

Although this is an obvious one, doing as much as you can the night before gives you time back in the morning. Children tend to take a while to wake up which means simple tasks like getting ready can take longer. Getting your children’s clothes out the night before and making their lunches gives you one less thing to do in the morning.

2. Introduce an alarm clock

Children don’t have the same concept of time as adults do. Giving your child their own alarm clock is a good way to teach them about time and get them into a routine of waking up to an alarm clock.

3. Give them a good breakfast

As the saying goes,, “A good breakfast starts the day,” and it has to be said, this is true. A tum full of nutritious food will see your little one through to lunch time and keep their brain humming away in class. Of course, when time is tight this is easier said than done.

As much as we would all love to give our children poached eggs, it’s good to keep breakfast simple. We’ve listed below some great breakfast ideas that are quick and easy to make;

Slice of toast with honey

A yogurt topped with fruit

Cereal topped with fresh or dried fruit

Boiled egg with soldiers

Porridge topped with fresh fruit

4. Play their favorite music

Whilst you don’t want to distract your children when getting ready, they do need a little motivation. Playing music is a great way to get them up and out of bed.

5. Star charts

A star chart is a great way to encourage and reward good behavior. Mumsnet have a range of downloadable reward charts for you to choose from. We recommended putting it somewhere prominent, and talk about it a lot, a few smaller prizes along the path to a bigger prize will keep the interest up.

6. Don’t give them too many chores

Whilst it’s great to encourage your children to contribute to the chores, the morning chores should be kept simple and consistent. Don’t ask your children to do time consuming tasks like clean their rooms or put away their clothes. These tasks should be simple like asking them to put their breakfast bowls in the sink or putting their school bags near the door.

7. Cut down on distractions

Televisions and mobile devices are the biggest distraction for children in the morning. Consider restricting access to the TV until they are ready. This is another great way to encourage your children to get ready quicker and take responsibility.